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‘Gabriel Agbonlahor has a lot to give England’ – Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish
The pacy striker had to pull out of the squad due to injury but his club boss has challenged him to maintain his club form and work his way back into the set-up
16 Nov 2011 13:26:00
By Joel Lamy
Getty Images
Alex McLeish has backed Gabriel Agbonlahor to work his way back into the England squad, after missing out through injury.
The striker had to pull out of the friendlies against Sweden and Spain due to a slight problem with his hamstring.
Competition for forward places in the England squad are fierce at the moment, but McLeish believes Agbonlahor could still prove himself to be good enough for the national side.
“Gabby’s certainly got a lot to give for England," he told reporters.
“There are a couple more games. I think Fabio’s [Capello] got the door open. I don’t think he’s got the door closed on anybody.
“It’s just a shame that after Gabby turned up and trained he got the injury but the England camp were adamant he needed to come back," he continued.
‘‘They did a scan on him and flagged up the nick on his hamstring. I’m sure he’s disappointed because he saw a wee chink of light that he would possibly get some playing time.
‘He went in good faith and unfortunately came back with this wee problem.
“But he’s still young, he’s still got opportunities in front of him if he continues to play at the level he’s playing for us.
“We want Gabby to maintain the form he’s in to catch Capello’s eye, hopefully for the European Championships.”
Agbonlahor missed out on the last England squad after suffering a back injury just before Capello announced his selection, but the Villa boss insists being involved with the international set-up helps a player progress, albeit his foward's participation has resulted in injury.
“It’s a catch 22,” McLeish continued. “You want to keep them all to yourself but at the same time how do they improve, physically, psychologically, technically?
“When they get international football it’s another string to their bow.
“Experience-wise, these kind of privileges can enhance your career and help you toughen up mentally as well.
“I think it would be great for him to play for England but the competition is immense. ‘It would be great if he was even involved in that and mixing with the players.
“It would be up to him then to show if he got his chance how good he can really be.”
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The striker had to pull out of the friendlies against Sweden and Spain due to a slight problem with his hamstring.
Competition for forward places in the England squad are fierce at the moment, but McLeish believes Agbonlahor could still prove himself to be good enough for the national side.
“Gabby’s certainly got a lot to give for England," he told reporters.
“There are a couple more games. I think Fabio’s [Capello] got the door open. I don’t think he’s got the door closed on anybody.
“It’s just a shame that after Gabby turned up and trained he got the injury but the England camp were adamant he needed to come back," he continued.
‘‘They did a scan on him and flagged up the nick on his hamstring. I’m sure he’s disappointed because he saw a wee chink of light that he would possibly get some playing time.
‘He went in good faith and unfortunately came back with this wee problem.
“But he’s still young, he’s still got opportunities in front of him if he continues to play at the level he’s playing for us.
“We want Gabby to maintain the form he’s in to catch Capello’s eye, hopefully for the European Championships.”
Agbonlahor missed out on the last England squad after suffering a back injury just before Capello announced his selection, but the Villa boss insists being involved with the international set-up helps a player progress, albeit his foward's participation has resulted in injury.
“It’s a catch 22,” McLeish continued. “You want to keep them all to yourself but at the same time how do they improve, physically, psychologically, technically?
“When they get international football it’s another string to their bow.
“Experience-wise, these kind of privileges can enhance your career and help you toughen up mentally as well.
“I think it would be great for him to play for England but the competition is immense. ‘It would be great if he was even involved in that and mixing with the players.
“It would be up to him then to show if he got his chance how good he can really be.”
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
19:32 BST
We're getting plenty of people saying it was boring. PLENTY. But Spain scored seven goals in eight games at the World Cup and I didn't hear too many of their fans complaining. Or as Fran Stinchcombe points out on Twitter: "If we had lost but played free flowing attacking football would these people still have moaned?"
19:24 BST
No, no, no. I'll have none of that Emile Heskey shouting anymore! Hello, it's me, it's me, it's that D-O-Y-L-E. Yes, I'm Joe Doyle, and I'll be here for all the reaction to that England game. First things first, how did everyone see that game? Good performance? A touch boring? Let me know on Twitter.
19:17 BST
Right, that’s me, Danny Hart, done. Joe Doyle is itching to retain his LIVE! crown for the evening. England reaction, Netherlands-Northern Ireland updates and much, much more - Doyle will be across it all. England are gonna win the Euros! And remember: EMILE HESKEY. Cheerio!
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